


Off Duty

by KouriArashi



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Sappy, Vacation, supportive boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-10-31 22:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10908423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KouriArashi/pseuds/KouriArashi
Summary: “I’m talking about an actual day off,” Magnus says, and Alec’s blank expression doesn’t change. “Off duty. If something goes wrong, they call someone who isn’t you.”“That’s . . . not really a thing that the Head of an Institute gets,” Alec says.





	Off Duty

**Author's Note:**

> Have some completely pointless fluff! Post season 2A, canon compliant as far as I know.
> 
> Mostly safe-for-work although there is some light smut. =D

Magnus is well aware that his penchant for drama can’t always be satisfied. He knows that Alec has his duties at the Institute and that just because he set up a very special date in Buenos Aires doesn’t mean they’re actually going to get to _go_ there. But the third time their plans get fouled up, he can’t keep himself from saying something. “Let me ask you something,” he says, when Alec shows up, ostensibly ready for their date but already apologizing for the fact that he’s likely to be called away at any minute. “When was the last time you had a day off?”

Alec blinks at him. “Like, two days ago. We went to Venice. You were there.”

“That wasn’t really a day off, though. You were on-call. You had to leave before we could get dessert, and having had dessert at that café, trust me, it was a tragedy.”

“Oh,” Alec says, blinking at him.

“I’m talking about an actual day off,” Magnus says, and Alec’s blank expression doesn’t change. “Off duty. If something goes wrong, they call someone who isn’t you.”

“That’s . . . not really a thing that the Head of an Institute gets,” Alec says.

Magnus decides against pointing out that Alec isn’t _technically_ the Head of the New York Institute. He might as well be, given his responsibilities. The people he supposedly shares them with certainly can’t be trusted. “You never get an actual day off? No phone calls, no interruptions? Sometimes people get multiple days in a row. It’s called a vacation.”

“I know what a vacation is, Magnus,” Alec says, rolling his eyes. “That’s something mundanes get. You know, people who don’t have lives depending on them.”

“You know, just because someone is mundane doesn’t mean that they don’t have lives depending on them,” Magnus points out. “Doctors, for example. The point is, unless you are the only person in the entire world capable of shouldering your responsibilities, you’re entitled to a break now and again.”

Alec shakes his head. “They’ve been more generous about giving me time with you than I would have expected. Especially since you’re a warlock.”

That annoys Magnus on general principle. “Are they interrupting our dates on purpose?”

“Oh, no, they just,” Alec stutters, and sees the look on Magnus’ face. “They’re just not going out of their way to _not_ interrupt our dates.”

“Ah,” Magnus says. “Well. I think that you and I are going to have a vacation. You’re going to have two – no, make that three – consecutive days off. I’m taking you to the Virgin Islands, and you can tell the people in charge that if your phone rings _one time_ while we’re there, I will move it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.”

“You can’t do that,” Alec says.

“Watch me.”

Alec gives him the side-eye like he’s trying to decide whether or not Magnus is serious. “Okay, but you say that like we never get interrupted by anything else. What about that time we were trying to go to the movies and Catarina called you with some urgent problem?”

Magnus winces. “A point. Very well, then, we should both just leave our phones here.”

Alec’s eyes go a little wide. “Magnus, I can’t just leave my phone here. What if, if Izzy or Jace needs to get in touch with me, what if something happens – ”

Magnus holds up a hand to cut him off, seeing that he went a step too far. “No, you’re right, of course. Circumstances being what they are, it would be prudent if they had a way to get in touch with us. Even so, we’ll tell everyone we’re not to be disturbed for the direst of emergencies.”

He can see Alec hesitating, thinking it through. But things _have_ been fairly stable in the last month. The things he’s getting called away for are routine missions that could be handled by somebody else. Valentine is no longer an issue; Aldertree has gone back to Idris. There’s really no reason that Izzy and Jace _can’t_ handle things for a few days. “Well . . . let me check with Izzy and see what she thinks.”

“Certainly,” Magnus says, because he’s one hundred and ten percent certain that Izzy is going to agree to this plan.

Alec takes out his phone and dials Izzy. “Hey, Iz, uh . . . do you think you and Jace can handle things for a few days? Magnus is sick of getting interrupted on our dates and wants to take me to – ” He stops talking. Magnus would love to listen in to the other end of the conversation but figures that would be rude. In any case, it’s fun watching Alec’s facial expression change from uncertainty to amusement to mortification and then resignation. He turns pink all the way up to his ears. “Okay, thanks,” he finally says, and hangs up.

“You didn’t tell her that she could only disturb us in dire emergencies,” Magnus points out.

“I, uh, I didn’t need to.” Alec is still flushed pink. “She says I’m to treat you right, give you my full attention, and she personally will make sure that nobody calls me unless, and I quote, the whole of Idris is on fire.”

Magnus can’t hold back a grin. “You know, I’m truly fond of your sister.”

“I know,” Alec says, laughing. “I guess I should go back to the Institute, get a few changes of clothes . . .”

“Oh, no, Alexander,” Magnus says. “You won’t be needing any of those.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

After some debate, Magnus begrudgingly admits that they can’t have sex for three days straight, and they might occasionally want to be seen in public, so they each pack a bag. He calls Catarina to let her know he’s going to be out of town, and they arrive in the Caribbean just in time for the sunset. They sit on the beach and watch in silence, before retiring to the little villa that Magnus has procured them for the evening. Alec would ask how, but the answer is either magic or money, and he supposes it doesn’t really matter. The windows are open, letting in the warm night breeze, and it’s some of the best sex they’ve ever had.

When they wake up the next morning, Magnus says, “Breakfast?”

“Sure, let me just check my messages,” Alec says, reaching for his phone.

Magnus snaps his fingers, moving the phone out from underneath Alec’s hand to the top of the bureau instead. “No messages,” he says. “We’re going to have breakfast, and then we’re going to the beach.”

Alec winces a little, but then nods and says, “Right, yes. Okay.”

The beach is beautiful, and even Alec has to admit it. They splash around in the water for a while before spending some quality time making out in the shallows. They have to keep it PG, since it’s a public beach, but they enjoy it nonetheless. Actually, Alec thinks he could spend an eternity sitting in the crystal clear water, kissing Magnus slowly, ardently, eternally.

Eventually, though, Magnus pulls Alec to his feet. “Let’s go diving.”

“I don’t know about you, Magnus, but I can’t breathe underwater.”

Magnus just smiles and says, “Follow me.”

Intrigued, Alec follows him into the shallows, and finds that when he goes underwater, there’s a bubble of air around his head. He opens his mouth to say something about how that’s not really going to work, because he’ll quickly consume all the air in the bubble and fill it with carbon dioxide, then decides against it. Magnus wouldn’t use a spell like this if it didn’t work. It probably pulls breathable air out of the water somehow.

The diving is amazing. He’s never been in a place like this, swimming among actual fish and coral reefs. Magnus seems to know his way around, so he’s clearly been there before, and Alec takes a few moments to admire the way his lean, lithe body moves in the water. It’s a beautiful sight, and he wants to commit it to memory. He sort of wishes that Magnus wasn’t wearing the swim trunks, and wonders how much trouble he’d get in if he came up alongside Magnus and just pulled them off.

They come up through an underwater tunnel onto a beach that looks like it’s never been touched by man. “This is amazing,” Alec says, looking around. He turns to Magnus and adds, “You’re amazing.”

“That makes two of us,” Magnus says, sprawling out on the beach where the water can just barely touch his toes. “Now come over here and make love to me.”

Alec doesn’t need to be given _that_ direction twice.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

After they’ve thoroughly worn themselves out on the isolated beach, Magnus portals them to one of the other islands so they can get something to eat. One of the resorts has a beach cookout with a casual dress code, and all the seafood is fresh. They both eat a ton before finding another beach to laze around on for a while.

After watching the sun set, they find a bar and have a few drinks. Alec kicks Magnus’ ass at darts, and Magnus doesn’t even try to hustle him, because he knows he won’t win at flying projectiles. There’s live music on the beach and they dance for what feels like hours. Alec always loves watching Magnus dance, and the fact that he can get away with not really knowing how to dance because everyone’s watching Magnus anyway. Then there’s slow dancing, which is as close to Heaven on earth as he thinks exists.

It’s about midnight when they get back to the villa. Alec realizes with a start that he hasn’t checked his messages all day. He reaches for his phone, only to have it disappear again. “Right. Sorry. Just – habit,” he says.

Magnus pulls the sheets back and climbs into bed, then pats the pillow next to him. Alec slides off his pants and gets in next to him. They kiss a few times and then Magnus turns out the lights with a quick wave of his hand. Alec rolls onto his back, which is how he normally sleeps. Magnus had teased him about that at first, how he slept on his back with his hands folded on his stomach like a little toy soldier. Alec protested that it’s comfortable.

Tonight, though, he can’t get comfortable. He’s restless and he doesn’t know why. His hands itch to grab his phone, just to check and make _sure_ that everything is okay. He knows that they could get hold of him if they really needed to. The fear is irrational and therefore unacceptable. But no matter how many times he tells himself that, he can’t lock it down.

“Can’t sleep?” Magnus asks, startling him.

“Sorry,” Alec says automatically, knowing that his tossing and turning is keeping Magnus awake. “Just restless.”

“You know what you need?”

Hoping that Magnus’ answer isn’t ‘therapy’, Alec says, “What do I need?”

Magnus presses his face into the crook of Alec’s neck, breathing deeply, before he pushes the sheets down with one hand, fingers playing over the planes of Alec’s chest. “A blowjob.”

Alec stutters out a quick laugh. “Oh, yeah, well, that,” he says, his breath hitching as Magnus’ fingers find the waistband of his boxers. He manages to gather himself well enough to say, “No arguments here, but if the goal is to get me to relax enough to sleep, you should let me go first. I’d hate to leave you unsatisfied.”

“Never,” Magnus says, but he doesn’t object as Alec rolls on top of him and starts kissing his way down Magnus’ chest.

He’s not great at this yet, although he’s been practicing diligently. He loves doing it, though, mostly for the reactions it provokes from Magnus, his soft sighs and needy gasps and the way his fingers tug at Alec’s hair. It’s quickly becoming one of his favorite activities. By the time Magnus comes, one hand gripping the back of Alec’s neck, he’s so hard that he aches.

For a few minutes afterwards, Magnus just blinks lazily up at the ceiling like he’s waiting for his brain to reboot. Alec watches him, running his fingers through Magnus’ hair. “I like your hair longer,” he murmurs. “I miss the way you colored it.”

“Ah,” Magnus says, with some regret. “I’ve been so busy that it was easier to keep it short. But if you like it that way . . .”

“I like it every way,” Alec says.

“Flatterer,” Magnus purrs, reaching over with one hand to rub his thumb over Alec’s cheekbone. He leans in for a kiss, sliding Alec’s underwear off.

If _giving_ a blowjob is amazing, then _receiving_ one is so off-the-charts that Alec doesn’t actually have a word for it. It’s often, well, embarrassingly quick. Magnus never seems to mind. This time, however, he seems intent on drawing it out. He brings Alec to the edge and then pulls away to press soft kisses into his stomach or caress his thighs, leaving him gripping at the sheets and trying not to moan too loudly. By the time he lets Alec come, he’s wrung out and desperate, letting Magnus’ name fall from his lips in pleading whimpers.

He falls asleep before Magnus can pull the sheets back up.

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

The next morning, they eat breakfast in bed and then park themselves on the villa’s patio for some serious sunbathing. Their villa is over the water, but far enough away from the main beaches that it’s quiet. Magnus puts some soft jazz music on his phone, and conjures up a bottle of sunscreen. Application of that is an extremely enjoyable experience.

Alec has a book that he had brought. He had never read much fiction as a child, always too busy with other things, but he had been getting into it lately. Magnus had a variety at his loft, mostly mysteries and suspense novels, and Alec was enjoying them.

So it’s just the two of them and the gentle noise of the ocean, the quiet jazz and the adventures of Ellery Queen and the nagging urge to _check his phone right now_. He can’t understand why he can’t get it out of his mind. They had been gone thirty-six hours. Anything could have happened. Nobody had called him, true, but what if they _couldn’t_ call? What if something was so wrong that nobody had been able to get in touch with him?

He tries to brush these fears off as irrational, but the longer he sits and tries to relax with little else to occupy him, the more difficult to ignore they get. At least Magnus doesn’t seem to notice this time, engrossed in his own paperback.

Finally, Alec can’t take it anymore. He gets to his feet and offers a quick, ‘I’ll be right back’, knowing that Magnus will take that to mean he’s going inside to use the restroom. Which he does, actually, but then he peeks outside to make sure that Magnus is still on the patio. He grabs his phone and calls Izzy. The sound of her ‘hello’ sends relief coursing through him. “Hey, I just wanted to check in – ”

“Alec, we’re fine,” Izzy says, with a hint of exasperation. “New York is fine. The Institute is fine. If Magnus finds out you interrupted your vacation to call me, you will _not_ be fine. What are you wearing?”

“What?” Alec is taken off guard by this abrupt change of topic. “Uh, just, just these shorts that – ”

“That’s too much. Take them off,” Izzy orders. “Then go back to wherever Magnus is and have sex with him until you’re tired to insult us by worrying about us.”

She hangs up without another word. Alec sighs and sets his phone back down. He does _not_ take his shorts off, mostly because he doesn’t want Magnus realizing anything is wrong, and instead goes to make them each a drink.

“Do you like piña coladas?” he calls out from the kitchen.

“And getting songs stuck in my head,” Magnus replies. Alec blinks at him, baffled, and Magnus laughs. “Yes, thank you.”

Shaking his head a little, Alec makes them both a drink and carries them outside. He settles back into his chair and picks up his book. He feels better now that he’s talked to Izzy and assured himself that everything is okay, but he also feels guilty. He had promised Magnus he wouldn’t do any work. They weren’t supposed to be interrupted.

“Alexander,” Magnus finally says, “what are you tying yourself in knots over?”

“What? Nothing,” Alec says, immediately and unconvincingly.

“You haven’t turned a page in over ten minutes,” Magnus points out.

Alec squirms. “I must have dozed off.”

“Ah,” Magnus says, and he drops the issue, which somehow makes Alec feel even worse. Not only is he sneaking around, now he’s lying about it.

“I called Izzy,” he blurts out. “Just to check in. I know that we weren’t supposed to be interrupted and I wasn’t supposed to check my messages, but I was worried and I couldn’t focus on anything and it was just getting worse so I – ” He sees Magnus blinking at him and groans, raking both hands through his hair. “I fail at vacations. I don’t like failing at things.”

At this, Magnus laughs quietly. Then he says, “I think I was too hard on you, Alec. Not letting you check your messages – that wasn’t fair of me. I admit that I don’t want you running back to New York at the first hint of a mission, but I wasn’t thinking about the fact that a lot of genuinely horrible things have happened lately. Of course you were worried.” He gets out of his own chair and settles on the edge of Alec’s. “Forgive me?”

“Yeah. Of course. I mean, I don’t, that isn’t – ” Alec stutters uselessly until Magnus presses a soft kiss against his mouth, shutting him up.

“Promise me that you won’t run off to New York for something routine,” Magnus says, pulling away, “and that will be more than enough.”

“I promise,” Alec says. He hesitates, then says, “You don’t think it’s weird? Me wanting to check in?”

“Weird?” Magnus frowns slightly. “Heavens, no. After everything that’s happened in the past few months . . . to be honest, it would be weirder if you didn’t.”

“You didn’t,” Alec says.

Magnus shakes his head. “Time works on a somewhat different scale for warlocks, you know. I once spent three years in the mountains of Tibet without speaking to any of my acquaintances, and that wasn’t odd at all. A few days is barely a blip on the radar. But things are different for you, and that’s fine.”

“Okay.” Alec relaxes.

“Okay.” Magnus kisses him again. “Now, you are wearing altogether too much clothing . . . and I think it’s about time for a second coat of sunscreen.”

Alec laughs. “Of course it is.”

 

~ ~ ~ ~

 

They go for another swim, and explore the coral reefs and make friends with a sea turtle. They go shopping and dancing and go to a bonfire on the beach. They lie on the beach under the stars with their feet twined together, kissing slow and lazy until the tide comes up and starts to tickle their toes.

Alec checks his phone occasionally, just to make sure that he doesn’t have any messages, but finds that when he _can_ check in as often as he needs to, he doesn’t worry about it as much. As long as he’s having a good time with Magnus, a quick check here and there is enough to satisfy him.

They watch the sun set one last time and then Magnus portals them back to his loft. “So?” he asks, leaning in for a soft kiss. “Did you enjoy your first real vacation?”

“It was amazing,” Alec says. He returns the kiss with interest, twining his hand through Magnus’ hair. One kiss becomes two becomes five, and he starts backing Magnus into the bedroom. Then he pulls away and says, “I should let Izzy know I’m back in town.”

“Of course,” Magnus says, trying not to let his disappointment show on his face. “Duty calls, I’m sure.”

“Yeah.” Alec takes out his phone, watching Magnus out of the corner of his eye. “Hey, Izzy, it’s me, we’re back.”

“Did you have a good time?” Izzy asks, her voice teasing.

“Yeah.” Alec doesn’t give details. “Anything urgent I need to know about?”

“Nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

“Great.” Alec watches as Magnus pushes his hands through his hair, leaving golden streaks in their wake. “I’ll be back tomorrow, then. Call me if you need me,” he says, then adds, “But Izzy . . . try not to need me.”

 

~fin~


End file.
